Famous Citizens of Lycia

Fresco of St. Nicholas in the Church of St. Nicholas, Demre

St. Nicholas

Lycia's celebrity. St. Nicholas was a popular bishop at Myra
in the 4th century AD, born in Patara between 260 AD and 280,
famous for his miracles and known for his kindness. His parents died
of the plague and he was left a wealthy young man.

It is said that he was thrown into prison
by Emperor Diocletian, perhaps participated in the Council of Nicaea,
implored Emperor Constantine for a large tax reduction for Myra which was
granted and destroyed Myra's renowned temple of Artemis (among many others).
After the death of St. Nicholas, Myra became a rich pilgrimage centre with
many new churches built, including
the beautiful Church
of St. Nicholas.

In 1087 Italian merchants, during the
confusion of the Seljuk invasion, stole his body at Myra and transported it
to Bari in Italy, which became a pilgimage center and where his relics are
still preserved today. An oily substance called Manna di S. Nicola,
which is highly valued for its medicinal powers, is said to flow from them.
Venetian sailors also claimed to have taken the body.

St. Nicholas' cult spread beyond the
Byzantine Empire in the 6th -11th centuries, celebrated especially in the
East Church under Russian imperial patronage. He later became the
patron saint of Greece and Russia as well as of children, sailors,
merchants, scholars, those unjustly imprisoned and travelers.

St. Nicholas was known for his charitable
nature and humility. Several legends about him have been based on his
kind and giving nature and have led to the development of Santa Claus.

Antiochis was a doctor at Tlos in the late
first century BC or early first century AD. Galen, the most famous
physician of antiquity, stated that she developed an effective medicine for
rheumatism and sciatica as well as treatments for dropsy and diseases of the
spleen. A book about hemorrages was dedicated to her, written by
Heracleides of Tarentum. The city council of Tlos allowed her the
right to erect a statue of herself in the city. The statue base, found
in the forum of Tlos, reads: "Antiochis, daughter of Diadotos, of Tlos,
marked by the council and people of Tlos for her achievement in the medical
art, erected this statue of herself."

Opramoas was a very wealthy Lycian citizen
who lived in the first half of the second century AD in the small town of
Rhodiapolis in eastern Lycia near present day Kumluca (Eskihisar). He
is well-known for his philanthropy and lived during a period when the Roman
Empire provided peace in Anatolia and public works in cities were highly
developed. It is not known exactly how Opramoas became so wealthy, but
it is known that the rents he received from his lands and the interest he
received from commercial ventures made up a portion of his wealth.

Not much is left of Rhodiapolis besides a
theatre, but the remains of Opramoas' mausoleum were found there and among
the rubble long inscriptions were discovered which once decorated the walls
of his tomb. These long inscriptions describe the good deads Opramoas
performed during his lifetime, letters from the emperor and records of the
assembly. They are the longest known inscriptions in Anatolia in the
Greek language where information is provided regarding administrative,
social and economic activities and relations. Other inscriptions found
in other Lycian cities give other details about this esteemed man.

Based on inscriptions it is known that
Opramoas:

Was promoted to prominent posts from
110-155 AD and acted as an administrative, military and religious
learder in the Assemby of the Lycian Federation and in important cities
of the region. He was honoured many times in the Assembly of the
Federation, many of which were approved by the Roman emperors.

Donated much money for the rebuilding of
more than 30 Lycian cities following the catastrophic earthquake in 141
AD in which many cities were demolished. At Myra he donated 200,000
denarii to repair the theatre, Artemis Eleuthera
temple and gymnasium and to decorate the gymnasium and surrounding
peristyle with marble.

Donated money for civic building, such
as baths and certain oracular shrines. Many cities received money such
as Choma,
which received 7,000 denarii towards a stoa and an Augustus temple. He is also known to have
funded the construction of the theatres of Xanthos, Tlos, and Limyra. At
Tlos, he donated 60,000
denarii for the "exedra in the baths" and towards the amphitheatre.

Distributed wheat to needy citizens and
donated money for the education and nourishment of needy children

Provided dowries for some government
employees and young girls and funeral expenses for some elderly

Assisted in the funding of festivals and
ceremonies organized in honour of the gods and emperors and held
festivals in his name every four years to help pay for these
expenditures.

Owned lands in many Lycian cities, some
of which he donated directly for charitable purposes and others from
which he donated the income.

Researchers have determined that during his
lifetime Opramoas contributed approximately 2 billion denarii for these
activities. Quite an enormous amount, considering that the wage of a
shepherd or menial worker was about 10 denarii during this period.

Yet another Lycian philanthropist and a
contemporary of Opramoas and Licinius Lanfus, said to have contributed to
the development many cities - 16 Lycian cities issued honorific decrees for
him. He is said to given handsome monetary gifts to the city of Myra.
He was an important man and became the Lyciarch (the head of the assembly).

Junia Theodora

Theodora was a lobbyist for Lycian
interests at Corinth in the mid-1st century AD and was a Roman citizen.
The Lycian Federation issued two decrees in her honour and presented her
with a crown of gold, her portrait painted on a gold background and five
minas of saffron. Myra, Patara and Telmessos also honoured her with
decrees of gratitude for her assistance. According to the decrees, did
excellent work in gaining the favour with authorities for Lycian interests.
She also provided hospitality ambassadors and private citizens from the
Lycian Assembly and from Lycian cities in her home. Upon her death,
her will favoured the Lycians. Sextus Julius, her agent and heir,
assisted her in her work.

Diogenes of Oenoanda
was a philosopher and prominent citizen who lived in the second century AD
and is famous for making one of the most exraordinary inscriptions of
ancient times. He had found peace of mind in the teachings of Epicurus
and in order to show the people in Oenoanda the road to happiness, he
commissioned a inscription 80 metres long and more than 3 metres high which
set out Epicurean doctrines in about 25,000 words. The huge
inscription was placed in the agora and its large inscribed letters were
painted - nobody could miss it. This inscription is one of the most
important sources for the philosophical school of Epicurus. Today it
is broken but its fragements are being studied. Many of its
blocks were used for building houses, paving streets, etc. –
most probably during the early
Christian era. They have been discovered one by one since the late
19th century.

Epicurism assured
people that there was nothing to fear from death, for the reason that there
is no afterlife: death is the end of us, because the only reality is
physical reality. It
conveyed the ultimate conviction that individuals can live in serene
happiness, fortified by the continual experience of modest pleasures.

This short summery of
Epicurism is part of Diogenes' inscription:

No fearing God.
No fearing Death.
Good is attainable.
Evil is endurable.

Another section of the
inscription (fragment 30) states in a transcription by professor M.F. Smith:

WE
contrived this [inscription] in order that, even while sitting at home,
we might be able to exhibit the goods of philosophy, not to all people
here indeed, but to those of them who are civil-spoken; and not least we
did this for those who are called "foreigners," though they are not
really so. For, while the various segments of the earth give
different people a different country, the whole compass of this world
gives all people a single country, the entire earth, and a single home,
the world.

I am not
pressurising any of you into testifying thoughtlessly and unreflectively
in favour of those who say "this is true" for I have not laid down the
law on anything, not even on matters concerning the gods, unless
together with reasoning.

One
thing only I ask of you, as I did also just now: do not, even if you
should be somewhat indifferent and listless, be like passers-by in your
approach to the writings, consulting each of them in a patchy fashion
and omitting to read everythng.

1. Extravagant wealth is of
no more benefit to men and women than water is to an already full glass.
Both are useless and unnecessary.

2. We can achieve great
satisfaction when we look upon the wealth and vast possessions of others by
remembering that we are not troubled by those desires nor are we a slave to
the labors and duties necessary to fulfill such wants.

3. These are the root of
all evil: fear of god, of death, of pain, and desire which goes beyond what
nature requires for a happy life.

4. Nothing contributes more
to serenity than a simple lifestyle that is not too busy, that does not
demand that we engage in disagreeable tasks, and that does not require us to
push ourselves beyond our power and strength.

Note: Some of the information
regarding Opramoas on this page was obtained from an article in
landoflights.net "Immortal Opramoas" by Hüseyin Köktürk (archaeologist),
Feb. 4, 2006 and from Cultural Heritage Language Technologies chlt.net.
Information about Antiochis and Junia Theodora is from Femina Habilis: A
Biographical Dictionary of Active Women in the Ancient Roman World from
Earliest Times to 527 CE by Dr. Kathryn E. Meyer of Washington State
University History Department and M.J. Engh, author and an independent
scholar of Roman history.